UK removes terrorism designation for Syria's HTS

The British government on Tuesday removed Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group which spearheaded the Syrian rebel alliance that helped oust President Bashar al-Assad, from its list of banned terrorist organisations.

HTS, a former al Qaeda affiliate, was proscribed in 2017, meaning that Britain designated it as a terrorist group, making it illegal to support or join it.

The government said in December last year that it could rethink the proscription, while President Donald Trump's administration revoked the U.S. foreign terrorist organisation designation for HTS in July.

Britain had joined other nations in welcoming the end of the Assad's autocratic government, which marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations and followed years of civil war. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president.

The British government said in a statement that removing HTS from the list of proscribed organisations would allow for closer engagement with the new Syrian government. It added it would also allow cooperation with Syria to eliminate Assad's chemical weapons programme.

"The UK will continue to press for genuine progress and hold the Syrian government accountable for its actions in fighting terrorism and restoring stability in Syria and the wider region," the government said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Syria's Economy Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar told Reuters at a conference in London that he hoped U.S. sanctions against the country would be formally lifted in the coming months.